Trust fund set up for Rachael Ryan, whose fam­ily died in TCH col­li­sion

Class­mates of mom, Paula Ryan, start crowd­fund­ing cam­paign

A crowd­fund­ing page has been set up to build a trust fund for 13-year-old Rachael Ryan, whose fam­ily died in a high­way col­li­sion last week­end.

A funeral for Rachael’s brother Michael, 11, and their par­ents Paula and Mike, took place last Thurs­day morn­ing in South­ern Har­bour, Pla­cen­tia Bay.

Also killed in the crash was 18-year-old Sarah Anne Stride, whose funeral took place Fri­day in Lewis­porte.

“Our hearts are bro­ken by the tragedy Rachael is fac­ing,” reads the gofundme.com page, cre­ated by Tiah Pel­ley.

“Paula was our class­mate — a mem­ber of the Clarenville High School grad­u­at­ing class of 2000. We are sad­dened by the loss of Paula, who we re­mem­ber as a beau­ti­ful per­son with a bright smile and an in­fec­tious laugh.

“In her mem­ory, and as a gift to her young daugh­ter, we have es­tab­lished a trust fund for Rachael. Monies will be held in trust un­til Rachael reaches the age of ma­tu­rity, and given to her as a gift from her mom’s grad­u­at­ing class.

“Af­ter a tragedy such as this, love and kind­ness is our only an­swer. Please join with us in show­ing #love­for­paula by con­tribut­ing to Rachael’s trust fund.”

The page was cre­ated Wed­nes­day, Aug. 30, and by Fri­day morn­ing, $16,056 had al­ready been do­nated.

Do­na­tions can be made online at https://www.gofundme. com/love-for-paula-racheal­strust.

Paula Ryan’s grad­u­at­ing class from Clarenville High School has started rais­ing money for a trust fund for her daugh­ter, Rachael. Ryan, her hus­band and her son died in a col­li­sion Sun­day, Aug. 27 on the Trans-Canada High­way.